Free skill upgrades were available?
Xiao He's eyes lit up.
And this Targeted Lottery with its pity system...
Xiao He mentally calculated it and felt it was somewhat unfair, but still acceptable.
To be precise, after seeing all those messy skills the system had, Xiao He felt he could accept anything now.
Xiao He sighed.
Forget it, what's the difference between working for life and working for the system?
People are born to be beasts of burden.
Work makes me happy, work makes me blessed~
Alright, he was going to claim his compensation rewards!
Rubbing his hands together, Xiao He first clicked open the skill upgrade option.
The skills currently available for upgrade were [Bone-Cleaving Knife Technique], [Hacker Skills (Beginner)], [Expert Climbing], and [Art of Lies]. The other skills he had drawn were all passive skills with no upgrade potential.
Xiao He stared intently at these "old employees" that had accompanied him this far, thinking carefully.
He now had two upgrade opportunities, but there were four skills. He also had no idea what direction these upgrades would take.
"System, give me a hint! I don't know what these skills will become after upgrading!" Xiao He made a request.
However, the usually accommodating system rejected Xiao He's request this time:
[You only have two free skill upgrade opportunities. Please choose carefully.]
Xiao He: "...Fine, don't tell me then, but you had to emphasize 'free' again, tsk tsk."
Simultaneously, he couldn't help but complain quietly in his heart: "So stingy! Since you're upgrading anyway, why not give me a full package!? Have to be so miserly with just two opportunities, as if you're afraid I'll take advantage of you."
As expected, those who make lottery games have no conscience!!!
Xiao He could only think for himself.
Hacker Skills were one of the skills Xiao He was most satisfied with. However, after careful consideration, he first eliminated this option.
Mainly because his current beginner-level skills were completely sufficient for his needs. Although he had encountered experts during the Liu Chenyan incident, as long as he ran fast enough, no one could catch him. Even if this skill developed further, its usefulness would likely be similar to now. Most true experts were already recruited, and the places they protected were naturally important official sites. Xiao He couldn't possibly go "seek death."
As for his first skill, Bone-Cleaving Knife Technique—
Xiao He stared at this skill, temporarily unsure which direction it would develop.
But since it was a "blade technique" type skill, if it were to upgrade, it should probably remain a blade technique... right?
That would overlap with his "Magic Hands" skill...
Now, whether learning blade techniques or sword techniques, as long as it involved hand skills, Xiao He basically wasn't worried. By memorizing more footwork and positioning, he could learn them independently.
If that were the case, then this option could be temporarily eliminated too.
Xiao He finally focused his gaze on [Expert Climbing] and [Art of Lies].
If he had to choose first, Xiao He felt it would definitely be Art of Lies.
After all, he was now an actor, and Art of Lies usually provided excellent support for his acting skills. If it could continue to upgrade, Xiao He was quite looking forward to what other effects might emerge.
As for Expert Climbing... perhaps it would upgrade to wall-running?
That would be amazing; he could secretly fly during wire work in the future—though, currently, the system probably wouldn't allow something so overpowered.
Xiao He fantasized endlessly about these two skills, feeling they were the safest bets and should be the most useful after upgrading. After careful consideration, he finally chose these two skills.
[Skills upgrading...]
[Upgrade successful!]
[Congratulations on obtaining "Extreme Escape," automatically learned.]
[Extreme Escape Details: An extreme sport evolved from Expert Climbing, convenient for your extreme escapes in different environments.]
[Congratulations on obtaining "Psychological Suggestion," automatically learned.]
[Psychological Suggestion Details: You no longer stoop to lying, because your words are the truth. Compared to fabricating lies, you might now prefer to alter all truths, leaving no trace of flaws.]
Looking at the two new skills, Xiao He took a deep breath and clenched his fist tightly.
From now on, his grudges with the system were settled!
The system was his god!!
—Wait, no, he drew them by his own ability, what does it have to do with the system?
Xiao He mentally scorned his own wavering stance, then immediately began studying his two new skills.
Extreme Escape, on the surface seemed to be for escaping, but Xiao He's focus was on the "extreme sport" aspect.
Oh right, especially diving!
Did that mean he automatically knew how to swim now?
Xiao He smiled wryly—so how should he tell Sister Liu that he suddenly knew how to swim overnight?
Not long ago, Sister Liu was talking about signing him up for classes...
Forget it, if Sister Liu asked, he would stubbornly insist it was "talent."
Xiao He finally turned his attention to Psychological Suggestion.
Psychological Suggestion... this skill sounded intimidating, but it actually only subtly changed a person's inner thoughts or certain memories; it couldn't completely alter a person's cognition and underlying thought logic.
For example, you could make someone think they did something a few days ago, but you couldn't make them think they were a dog.
The former is an influence applied to the subconscious, the latter is a complete change of a person's cognition, which is definitely impossible.
After some thought, Xiao He finally went into the bathroom, looked in the mirror, and performed psychological suggestion on himself...
...
In the evening, Liu Rulan came to see Xiao He. The moment she saw Xiao He, Liu Rulan frowned: "You? Xiao He?"
Xiao He: ?
"What's wrong? Sister Liu?"
He tilted his head slightly, very puzzled, as he let Liu Rulan enter.
Liu Rulan stared at the person in front of her, her face showing conflict and hesitation, as if pondering something. After a long silence, she finally said: "You... seem somewhat different."
Could that Psychological Suggestion actually be effective?
"It's just a feeling..." Liu Rulan said while pressing Xiao He to sit on the sofa, her face full of concern and worry, "Have you been working non-stop these past few days, causing too much psychological pressure? Or did you encounter something unhappy recently? Haven't been resting well? Something on your mind? If there are any problems, you must tell me. We need to communicate promptly."
Since Liu Rulan had met Xiao He, he had always carried an aloof, cold sternness that kept people at a distance. His eyes were fierce, making him look like someone with a vicious, explosive temper who could draw a knife and attack at the slightest disagreement, making people instinctively want to maintain a safe distance from him.
But in fact, Xiao He himself had a very good temper and was very friendly with everyone. Liu Rulan had gradually grown accustomed to his suspicious "criminal-like" aura, and could even easily discern his true inner thoughts from his tone and micro-expressions.
But this time seeing Xiao He, Liu Rulan actually noticed that Xiao He's aura had softened considerably. The sharpness and fierceness in his eyes were also gone. At this moment, Xiao He was like a vicious wolf that had been ferocious for a long time, suddenly changing its nature and showing a tame, obedient side to others.
Honestly, perhaps because Liu Rulan had grown used to the old version, seeing Xiao He now made her feel like he was definitely up to no good.
Xiao He: ...
The corner of Xiao He's mouth twitched: The effect was actually this good?
Actually, Xiao He hadn't done much; he had just looked in the mirror and repeatedly suggested to himself that he was a good person a few times.
After the suggestion, Xiao He didn't feel any change in himself. There was no strong impulse to do good deeds. When watching touching short videos, he didn't feel the urge to donate or share them, and his heart remained completely unmoved.
Xiao He had originally guessed that the skill might cancel itself out when used, so Psychological Suggestion had no effect on himself.
But wow, it turned out it changed his eyes and aura?
Hmm... So, when using this skill on himself, it could help reduce his "criminal aura," making others less afraid of him, and preventing people from feeling scared and wanting to call the police at first sight???
Damn, so this thing could be used like this?
Hahaha, awesome! Probably even the system didn't expect this!?